Louis Paul Jules de Rochechouart de Mortemart
Louis Paul Jules de Rochechouart de Mortemart (20th July 1710 - 10 March 1758) was a Grandelumierian nobleman and the Duc de Mortemart. Born in 1710 at L'Hôtel de Vivonne, Paris, Grandelumière into the illustrious de Rochechouart de Mortemart family, Jules was the eldest brother of the famous/infamous Les Mortemarettes. He was handsome, quick-witted and held the largest fortune in Grandelumière. Biography Birth Louis Paul Jules de Rochechouart de Mortemart was born on the 20th July 1710, to the Marquis and Marquise de Montpipeau. Jules was the eldest son and as such was granted the title of Marquis de Vivonne. He would be second-in-line to the Rochechouart de Mortemart fortune. Via his parents, he possessed the blood of the two oldest noble families in Grandelumière. Early Childhood Jules did not get on well with the Marquis de Montpipeau, finding his degrading and abusive nature to the Marquise frankly shocking. He was somewhat repulsed by the Marquis's successive stream of debauched misadventures (This wouldn't be the last he'd see of this behavior). He also was the receiver of subsequent abuse from the Marquis, often being smacked or beaten as an example in the view of his elder sisters: Laurène, Olympe, and Gabrielle. Besides his father's drunken and abusive escapades, Jules had a warm relationship with the Marquise de Montpipeau. He was also rather close to Louis Chrétien Hercules de Rochechouart de Mortemart, who would visit the large brood at L'Hôtel de Vivonne with some frequency. Jules had a passion for outdoor pursuits when quite young, and was a physically fit child. He seemed perfect in the view of many to have a career in the military. All aspirations of the future were halted for some time when the Marquis de Montpipeau died in 1719. Jules was not phased in the slightest. Childhood The passing of Monsieur le Marquis de Montpipeau left the Marquise destitute with a brood of unmarried children. Madame de Montpipeau, suddenly discovering a vocation to take the veil, placed her children into the care of Cardinal Mortemart (Louis Chrétien Hercules de Rochechouart de Mortemart), Archevêque de Paris. He was then given into the care of the Jesuits in Paris at the Collège de Clermont. Here, Jules received an education with his brothers: Louis-Armand Giles, Marquis de Galiffet, and Louis-Baptiste Philippe, Comte de Rochechouart. It was here, from the age of 10, he would study politics, jurisprudence, theology, and mathematics. Adolescence While doing well at the College de Clermont, once he reached the age of 14 he made it clear of his military ambitions and requested his uncle to follow in those lines. The Cardinal Mortemart was only too pleased to have him moved into such a field, being passionately proud of his role that he was to pursue. As a result, he was transferred to l'école militaire impériale de l'Empereur. While here he was increasingly aware of his standing, something he had become well known for at the College de Clermont. He would maintain a small circle of friends from the highest aristocratic houses, a circle which excluded those he felt beneath him. Towards the end of his time at the school, he was educated alongside his future beau-frère Louis-Maximilien Frédéric de Rohan, Duc de Rohan (Then Prince de Soubise). He would be presented at court after all education had come to an end in 1729. This was mostly in order to find a suitable and illustrious bride. Marriage Sophie Thérèse, known as Mademoiselle, was the single child of Monsieur, le Duc d'Orleans. She was the biggest catch in Grandelumière at that time. Though not an overwhelming beauty, nor blessed with the vital social graces, nor as intelligent as Les Mortemarettes, she would come with the provision of a hefty 2,000,000 livres and the inheritance of her fathers estate on her death, which made the marriage most agreeable. They were married at Notre Dame de Paris on October 15th, 1734. In November 1735, Sophie Thérèse became pregnant, and in July 1736, her first child Marie Pauline was born. The first daughter in a successive line of devastating blows and disappointments. an heir would finally be born in 1737. Madame la Marquise de Vivonne caused Jules monumental trouble throughout their marriage. She was a heavily debauched woman, more so than Jules's infamous sister Madame de Montespan who had died a gruesome death in 1737. The Marquise's debauched life extended through all ranks of society: Henri-Francois Charles de Tonnelier, and a number of Spanish noblemen to name a few. Indeed her sexual enthusiasm was major, which sometimes lead to questioning the legitimacy of their children. The first response was to send her away when she was unmarried but now married Jules couldn't face annulment. Instead, they ignored each other, never spending a night together after 1744. When one was in Paris, the other at Court. Indeed the Marquise would even face legal court on one occasion, the result being under house-arrest at Cardinal Mortemart's residence La Motte. The Ten Year War The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was subject to an invasive occupation by Friedrich Wilhelm Hohenzollern II. The Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) and the Pałac Koniecpolskich was seized. Following the occupation Warsaw, Prussian forces marched into Silesia then into Saxony, where the Elector Augustus III defended Dresden. After the succession of devastating blows, Marie IV did not hesitate to declare war upon her Lutheran enemy, Friedrich Wilhelm Hohenzollern II. Jules, a staunch Catholic due to his Rochechouart lineage, was disgusted and outraged at the appalling crimes Protestant Prussia was vomiting over Europe. Elector Augustus III was defeated at the Battle of Dresden. He and the entire Royal Family were placed under arrest in the Dresdner Residenzschloss. Marie IV announced that the court was to travel to the Grandelumierian border to settle at Fort Louis le Grande in Strasbourg. Jules followed suit, accompanied begrudgingly by the Marquise de Vivonne (She'd return after a month of living at the Strasbourg border). The Treaty of Strasbourg was signed by all foreign powers who took an active part in the bloodshed. Jules, though not welcome to the entire idea of peace with a Protestant nation, accepted the consultation of acquiring territory in the North and the liberation of Augustus III. He accompanied Marie IV when departing back for Paris after the declaration/negotiation of peace was reached. Death On March the night of March 9th 1758, the Duc de Mortemart was attending a masked ball in Paris with many other court nobles. During the course of the night he had a few drinks, but not enough to cause concern. At the end of the evening the Duc collapsed while dancing, falling down the steps of just inside of the theatre. He was soon transported to Argenteuil under the care of a doctor. He remained unconscious for several hours until he woke, weak and in a great deal of pain. During the morning of the 10th of March, he took Last Rites as he condition had not improved. He remained in his bed, surrounded by his children, the Dauphin, Dauphine and many other courtiers, and would die shortly after, at the age of 47. His last words were those whispered to his son, Louis Alexandre Hercules. Personality and Appearance Personality While not entirely heartless by any genuine account, Jules was often known to be a rather cold figure, following a similar vein to his uncle, who, excluding the death of the Empress, remained unemotional before the court. This control of his emotions was only ever lapsed when in the presence of those he considered his close friends or his closer members of the family. He was known to keep himself busy with hunting and riding regularly, something he frequently carried out with his military training. These two passions for sporting were only matched by his enjoyment of dueling, another active sport he enjoyed. Though relatively cold in front of the majority of courtiers with his held back emotions, he did keep a small circle of friends, a circle which was maintained without letting many individuals he viewed as beneath him into the group. This haughtiness, or pride, was a characteristic trait of the Mortemarts, from their historic and wealthy status. Appearance Despite, for the majority of his life, having always been raised in the lap of luxury by his uncle, Jules did not fall to the same temptation of sweet foods others might have done. Rather, as a result of his particular love for horse riding, hunting, and dueling, he kept himself in considerably better physical shape. Of his brothers, Jules would have been easily described as the most handsome, with a good jaw, nice skin similar to that of his family, which remained unblemished to the eye. Similar to his uncle, Jules stood at a remarkable 5 foot 9, 5 inches taller than the average man of his day. With this, he had naturally deep blond hair, though frequently powdered as normal by the court, and a pair of piercing icy blue eyes, that some remarked being speckled with gold. Though in good shape, due his years of physical activity, and in particular, his dueling and military service, Jules had suffered a deep gash across his upper left leg. Though the gash had healed, he continued to suffer pain from the gash for some time after, and it caused him to use a cane more than usual. Issue * Marie-Gabrielle Hortense, Mademoiselle de Vivonne (16th July 1735 - Present) * Louis Alexandre Hercules. Marquis de Montpipeau (10th June 1737 - Present) * Louis-Paul Jules, Comte de Limoges (21st July 1738 - Present) * Marie-Louise Etiennette, Mademoiselle de Saint-Victurnien (14th April 1739 - Present) * Marie-Sophie Augustine, Mademoiselle de Lussac (9th February 1740 - Present) * Miscarriage * Miscarriage * Marie-Isabelle Adélaïde, Mademoiselle de Montmorency (3rd July 1744 - Present) Category:House Rochechouart de Mortemart Category:18th Century Births Category:Grandelumierian Nobility Category:Grandelumierian Marquis Category:Grandelumierian Dukes